Red Sox fans, cry not my children.
I know you had great memories of Anderson Espinoza pitching and knew him so well. I mean, it’s not like he was just a name on paper in Low-A ball or anything. And it’s not like the Red Sox got a 27-year-old left-handed All-Star starting pitcher from the San Diego Padres in return for him named Drew Pomeranz, who is making $1.35 million this year and is under team control through the end of the 2018 season. That would change everything. Oh wait…
The Red Sox made their most lit trade of the season earlier today when they traded Espinoza for Pomeranz straight up. Yup. They traded their fourth best prospect for an All-Star starter straight up.
This trade kind of came out of nowhere too.
Man, that’s really steep: a guy who has never pitched in the big leagues for a guy who has 2.47 ERA in 17 starts this season. Yeah, he’s not as lights-out as the numbers look. He’s pitching at a pitcher-friendly Petco Park against lineups who don’t have a DH. So there’s that. But even with those factors, this is still a quality starting pitcher. He will be a nice addition to the Red Sox rotation, one already consisting of Steven Wright, David Price and Rick Porcello. So who’s the fifth starter? Does it matter? That’s pretty good right there.
This should be like Christmas in July for Red Sox fans.
The “you” being Drew Pomeranz, of course.
For those saying Drew Pomeranz only had one good year, consider this: he owns a 2.84 ERA in 257 innings since the start of the 2014 season. That’s three good seasons right there. So what about before that? He was young and played for the Colorado Rockies, and Coors field is hell for pitchers.
Anyone wondering about Espinoza must remember the Red Sox have a lot of trouble developing pitching prospects. Everyone seems to forget how many times the Red Sox have had top-tier farm systems and how few guys actually develop. You know there’s a problem when they couldn’t even turn Craig Hansen into the next Mariano Rivera.